1997 was a year of significant disasters in Victoria, in particular the bushfires that devasted the State at the beginning of the year. With 'El Nino' producing one of the driest winters on record, the focus of the latter half of the year has been prevention of bushfires and amelioration of associated health problems. The publication of the new edition of the Victoria State Medical Emergency Response Plan (Medical Displan) has drawn attention to disaster medicine as an area that demands renewed attention by all hospitals and health care agencies. With the focus on bushfires, it is timely to remember that past medical and health service planning has integrated the first aid services provided by Ambulance Service Victoria, St John Ambulance and Red Cross, helping to ensure that wasteful duplication is avoided. At the start of the summer bushfire season Medical Displan issued a new document on heat stress prevention which aims to educate all who may have to work in situations where heat exhaustion is a possibility. Major health problems during the year included hazmat incidents, food borne infections, fires and large crowd incidents. The focus for planning and prevention activities in 1998 will be the production of packaged table top exercises that can be used by regions or individual organisations to work out responses to a series of anticipated or unanticipated emergencies.